Chum Salmon

The chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. It is a Pacific salmon, and may also be known as dog salmon or keta salmon. 

Chum salmon have the largest natural range of any Pacific salmon, and undergo the longest migrations within the genus Oncorhynchus, far up the Yukon River and deep into the Amur River basin in Asia. In lesser numbers they migrate thousands of kilometres up the Mackenzie River. Chum are found around the north Pacific, in the waters of Korea, Japan, and the Okhotsk and Bering seas, British Columbia in Canada, and from Alaska to California in the United States.

Chum salmon are the most widely distributed of all the Pacific salmon and generally occur throughout Alaska. Like most other Pacific salmon species, chum salmon spend most of their life feeding in saltwater, then return to freshwater when mature to spawn once in the fall then die.

Adult chum usually weigh from 4.4 to 10.0 kg (9.7 to 22.0 lb) with an average length of 60 cm (24 in). The record for chum is 19 kg (42 lb) and 112 cm (44 in) and was caught at Edie Pass in British 

Columbia.

Chum are a major source of food in Japan and Russia—particularly their roe, which is highly prized. In North America, however, chum are among the least valued salmon.

Chum Salmon Species Profile - by Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game

Chum Salmon - by Salmon Fishing Now